


A While After

by SunPhyre



Series: Together [2]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Adventure, Adventure & Romance, Canon Compliant, Canon Gay Relationship, Canon Queer Relationship, Canon Universe, Comfort, Comfort Reading, F/F, F/M, Fire Magic, Fire Powers, Fire Princess - Freeform, Fluff and Humor, Friendship, Humor, Lesbian Adora (She-Ra), Lesbian Catra (She-Ra), Lesbians in Space, Long, Moon, POV Third Person, POV Third Person Omniscient, Plot, Post-Canon, Post-Season/Series 05 Finale, Romance, Sappy, Short Chapters, Slice of Life, Some Glimbow, Some Humor, Some Scorfuma, catradora, new characters - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-29
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:08:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 19,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24440326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SunPhyre/pseuds/SunPhyre
Summary: Our characters, especially Catra and Adora, start their normalcy after the war. Then, it is decided Angella must be rescued; however, it is not that easy. The Best Friends Squad will have to embark on a mission to retrieve an object they need before going after Angella.
Relationships: Adora & Catra (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra), Perfuma/Scorpia (She-Ra)
Series: Together [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1762210
Comments: 65
Kudos: 346





	1. Bright Moon

**Author's Note:**

> This continues after the first part of the series "Together" which is only one very short chapter (Right After). I recommend that you read it first, you only need 2 to 5 minutes to read it.  
> 👉 https://archiveofourown.org/works/24403234
> 
> Once again, English is not my first language.  
> I hope you enjoy!
> 
> IMPORTANT: This begins as a slice of life type of story (as it was my first intention); however, soon there will be major plot.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The victorious group of friends march together to Bright Moon to recover from the war.

The heroic Rebellion spent some time celebrating the end of the war against Horde Prime right there, in the former battlefield where they finally won. The breathtaking sight of the magic returning to Etheria and reviving the planet tricked them for a while, but soon they all realized that they were terribly exhausted and even hurt.

It was then that Queen Glimmer intervened:

“Friends,” she called out to them “We have fought valiantly and given everything we had for Etheria and each other. Now we must recover; I say we all go to Bright Moon together, where we will tend to our hard earned post-war needs, and when we are all well rested, we shall have a feast for all the kingdom!”

All were listening, and all cheered and nodded enthusiastically. Some were looking forward for a bath, others for a long nap. Entrapta even called for miniature treats at the feast.

“Spoken like a true Queen” Micah put her hand on his daughter’s shoulder.

“Indeed” Castaspella agreed. “Your mother would be so proud, Glimmer, of everything”.

Just when it looked as if Micah was going to say something, Adora and Catra approached them. Hugging her friend again, the former said:

“Wow, Glimmer that was very _royaltée_ of you” she said trying to mimic an elevated tone that fooled no one. 

Catra tried to suppress a laugh. “What was that, Adora?”

“What? I think it was very clever!”

Glimmer chortled and put an arm around Catra’s shoulders. “You had to be there. Don’t worry, I’ll tell you all about it in our way home! Since I’m too tired to teleport all of us there and all.”

  
“Oh. Good. Double good.” Said Catra, relieved at the idea of not having to go through Glimmer’s teleportation again, and amused by the idea of listening to Adora’s embarrassing stories. The only thing she loved more in the world that Adora was Adora being dorky.

“Hey! I spoke very _intelligeánt_ -ly!” she said with a straight face. Everybody laughed and she just crossed her arms while making a pouty face. And so they marched to Bright Moon together.

Most of the current members of the Rebellion had already a room assigned in the big palace, since they have often slept there during war meetings. Glimmer addressed this, and told the newcomers that they could choose any spare room of their liking, which were marked with a full moon on the door. Once occupied, the sign would turn into a crescent moon instead.

Catra couldn’t help but to give a side-glance to Adora, looking slightly tense. She immediately noticed, and with a big, affectionate smile, told her:

“Don’t worry. You’re staying with me. Just like old times”, and took her by the hand.

Catra’s uneasiness quickly passed. She smiled at her, too, and added:

“But better.”

“But better.” Adora confirmed.

Melog, who was by their side, meowed at them.  
  


“Don’t worry, Melog! You’re staying with us, too!” Adora petted them softly, and they purred.

Glimmer approached them cheerfully. “Hey, guys! I’m gonna go get Bow, his dads, and siblings. I want them all here for our celebrations!”

“Yeah, they should be here” said Adora, “We’ll go ahead to our room to clean up and rest. We’ll see you and Bow later?”

“Yeah!” Glimmer answered “We’ll both go to your one, _singular_ room in a while” She smirked at the two of them and disappeared in a cloud of sparkles.

“Well. Busted, I guess” Catra said with a nervous but amused smile.

Adora laughed. “We’ll tell them officially when we see them later. They’ll want to know what happened at the heart, anyway. I’m sure the only reason Glimmer hasn’t asked us yet is because she wants Bow to be present, too.”

“And all the others?” asked Catra.

“They must be too tired and happy that Prime is gone to ask anything yet. But…”

“But…?”

“But we will surely be required to explain at some point. You know… “ Adora’s expression turned playful “How you _looooove_ me and you _kissed_ me and…”

Catra hissed loudly. “SHUT UP!” She covered Adora’s mouth with her hand, but her giggling girlfriend broke free easily and sprinted away.

“Race you to our room!”

“Adora, wait! I don’t know this place! ADORA YOU CHEATER” She said running after her, without being able to suppress her laughter.

All things considered, Catra honestly thought that she was at the most beautiful place she could ever be. Princesses and all!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This part of the series will have more chapters. All of them will probably be as short, but I hope that pleasant enough. I will also *try* to add some plot, but I'm not the best at it. My strength, I think, relies on characterization. And being too corny (Whoops).


	2. Kitty Overboard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra needs a bath.

When Catra went through the door marked with a crescent moon, she first stood quietly looking at everything, and then proceeded to smell closely all of Adora’s belongings in her room; now theirs.

“What do you think?” asked Adora.

“Smells like princesses” Catra answered teasingly. 

Adora chuckled and led her girlfriend towards the bathroom, by the shoulders.

“What’s this?”

“Remember how we used to clean up in the horde, with cold-water hoses?”

Catra hissed quietly. Of course she remembered, it was the stuff of nightmares. She constantly tried to escape them, but if Shadow Weaver caught her sneaking, she would magically force her to face the hoses, which would then last longer, and the water pressure would be harder, too.

Seeing her face, Adora hastily reassured her:

“We don’t have to do that anymore. Here, let me show you.” She opened the tap and water quickly filled the bathtub. “You just go in and clean yourself up with the water and with the content of these little bottles, whichever you prefer. But I think you should use this one,” Adora pointed at a white soap bottle “because it is unscented.”

Catra looked at her in amazement. She understood at once that Adora was thinking of her very sensitive sense of smell. Everybody else always would forget about it, back in the horde, but not Adora. She was that kind of person, the one that always remember everything about the people she cares about, to the tiniest detail.

“I know you really dislike water” Adora continued, “but I promise, this is ten times better than the hoses. Please try it. And the water’s so warm!”

Reluctantly, Catra dip a finger in the bathtub. She was right, it was warm. She would still prefer to lick away the dirtiness, but she was at Bright Moon, and she had the feeling that things were done extra fancy there, and that she would need to compromise a little.

“Fine, okay” she said “I’ll give it a chance. But I don’t have any fresh clothes”

Adora just smiled at went back to the room. Soon, she came back with a white set of clean clothes.

“Here. Don’t worry if you don’t like them or if they are a bit loose, we’ll find others later. This will do for now, I think.

“Hmmm” Catra took the white tee and inspected it. Then, she extended her nails and ripped it carefully, so she could still wear it. “Yeah, this will do.”

“WHAT” Adora was left agape “WHY” she gesticulated exaggeratedly at the tee. “WHY”

“So you can’t wear them anymore, now it’s mine”

“But why…” she whispered still open-mouthed. Then she recollected herself and sighed. “This is totally gonna be a thing, isn’t it? With all my clothes?”

“Oh yeah” Catra jested, smiling maliciously.

“Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh. Anyway, I brought you some towels as well so you can dry after the bath. Please, DO NOT just shake the water away all cat-like. USE THE TOWELS.”

“I’ll try. No promises”

Adora laughed. “Do you need anything else?”

Catra got closer to her and bumped their foreheads together. “Nothing else, silly”

Her girlfriend directed a big, sweet smile at her and closed the bathroom’s door from outside. Then, she shouted through the closed door “I’ll wait here for you, and then it’ll be my turn!”

“Yeah, I got that, dummy!” Catra’s face irradiated such peace and happiness that she actually went ahead and followed all of Adora’s instructions. She actually enjoyed the water for the first time ever.


	3. Lessons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for some Catra angst.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another Catradora chapter. The next one will feature more characters.

When Adora came out of the bathroom after her turn, she found Catra and Melog sitting by the window seat, and looking outside with a solemn face.

“Hey” she approached them “What are you thinking?” said Adora with a smile.

“Oh, hey. Nothing, just… this place is beautiful.”

“It is” Adora sat by her side.

“Yeah, and I… you know, tried to take it down so many times. And now I’m here, with you, and with all of these people who… I don’t know, accept me? And it just… it just feels…”

Adora tucked a strand of Catra’s hair after one of her feline ears. “Like you don’t deserve it?”

Catra put her hand on Adora’s while it was still at her face, to keep it there, and silently nodded. Melog meowed piteously.

“I felt the same way when I first came here. That’s why I only focused on what I could do to help, but forgot to think of myself, too. I know, I know” she added when she saw Catra about to protest “My situation and yours are different. But our circumstances are different, too. We both grew up under Shadow Weaver’s influence, but she taught me that my value was measured by how much I could be of service, while she taught you that you don’t have any value at all. She only showed you hate and disdain.”

“But _you_ only showed me love and kindness, and it was _you_ I hurt the most.”

“Catra” Adora gently brushed up a tear on her girlfriend’s face. “You did wrong. Yes. But we have ahead of our lives all the time in the world. Are you gonna let just a couple years of wrongdoing define you? Are you gonna sulk about them, or are you willing to learn, grow, and do better, just as you have been doing since we took out your chip?”

After a moment staring at her blue eyes, Catra’s pitiful expression turned to determination. “You’re right” she took Adora’s hand, the one that she was holding in her face, and kissed it. “I have to make things right. I _can_ make things right, and I will. My guilt would only further hurt you, wouldn’t it?”

Adora pecked her lips, and then brought their foreheads together. “It was you who showed me that I wasn’t chosen for anything that I don’t choose myself, that I’m allowed to love and be loved. And so are you. You deserve love, too, Catra.”

She smiled with loving eyes. “Sometimes you’re not so stupid, after all”.

Adora chuckled. “I know, I have my moments, right?” They both laughed and hugged while Melog purred satisfied.

And then someone knocked on the door. They broke the hug, but their hands remained intertwined. Adora authorized them to enter, and Glimmer and Bow barged into their room excitedly.

“Hey, guys!” said Adora, and pulling Catra with her, ran into a best friends squad embrace.


	4. The Power of Love Saved the Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Best Friends Squad Reunion!

“Alright, so tell us what happened at the heart!” asked Glimmer.

“Yes, and don’t leave out any detail, I want to know EVERYTHING!” exclaimed Bow with a squawk.

“Weeeeell,” said Adora nervously “we, uh, we kind of said ‘I love you’ to each other and kissed and that pretty much saved day by allowing me to unlock She-Ra’s full potential and thus defeating Horde Prime once and for all” she added very rapidly. “Basically.”

Catra was avoiding everybody’s looks in embarrassment, so red that if she still had her former head mask, it would have matched her face.

Glimmer and Bow, however, seemed very incredulously excited.

“Whaaaat?!” screamed the former.

“You confessed your love for each other? You KISSED?!” Bow’s eyes were almost literally two shining stars. “It’s the power of love… the power of love saved the day!” He hardly could hide his enthusiasm.

“Ughh, this is so embarrassing… “

“It’s not!” Bow took Catra’s hands with his, very excitedly “It’s beautiful…”

“Hey, Arrow Boy, watch it!” She yanked her hands free from him “You’re shimmering more than actual Sparkles here!” The other three couldn’t help but laugh heartily. Even Catra herself chuckled softly.

“But guys, seriously” Glimmer approached the other two girls and took their hands sweetly. “I’m very happy for you two. You deserve this.”

“Deserve what?” A winged horse with a radiant mane entered through the window. “Did someone say _Swift Wind_?!”

“Seriously, is that how you always start all your conversations?” Catra complained.

“I’ll have you know, it’s very popular among all the kingdom’s horses” replied Swift Wind haughtily. “Anyway, what were you talking about?”

Adora came to her noble steed and petted him fondly. “Hi, Swift Wind. Catra and I are together, that’s what we were talking about.”

“Oh, that! Well, I’m not sure that I like this particular cat just yet, but I guess it doesn’t matter because all that does is that _you_ like her, Adora” he said nonchalantly. “So congratulations!”

“Thank you, Swifty” she smiled at him.

He then turned to Bow and Glimmer. “What about you two? You guys a thing yet, too?”

Before any of them could reply, Perfuma appeared suddenly “Oh, Glimmer, here you are!” She paused to catch her breath; it was evident that she had rushed there. “Your aunt is looking for you, she says it’s time to pick the cakes for the feast!”

“Oh, RIGHT! The feast, huh! Right, right, right… yes! We are coming!” she took Bow by his arm, who, just like herself, was blushing since Swift Wind’s question, and led him to the door.

“Wait!” Perfuma exclaimed “You need to give me permission for the floral arrangements! I found you first, if you see Mermista you have to tell her that! _I’m_ doing the flowers!” and then she followed after them. 

“So” Catra began to say “another day in Princess Paradise, huh?”

Adora laughed and offered her hand. “Let’s go help with the ice-cream cake”

“Alright, but you’re gonna have to explain what ice-cream is, first”

Swift Wind left by the same window he had come in, Melog stayed in the room to take a nap, and Adora and Catra left to help organize the first of many parties they would attend together.


	5. Whatever Happened to the Queen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The feast has begun and (almost) everyone is having the time of their life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, some plot!
> 
> Edit: I am doing some research for the incoming chapters, so I may take a day or two, I'm sorry! I want to get this as canonically accurate as I can

And so the feast came. It was probably the biggest event Etheria had ever seen; it extended beyond the kingdom of Bright Moon to all populated areas, even the Crimson Waste. As the magic of the heart had been released, there was no longer any shortage of the sweet nourishment the planet’s flora could provide.

Outside the Bright Moon palace, though, all of our heroes were happily singing, drinking, dancing, eating, laughing. Even Catra thought she could get used to it. The only one that didn’t seem to be able to immerse in the full joy going on, was King Micah. After waiting for a period of time to let her enjoy herself for a while, he approached his sister.

“Castaspella” he said “I’m sorry to interrupt you in this joyous moment, but I really need to speak with someone, and I don’t want to bother Glimmer and her friends. Not just yet, at least.”

“Of course” she agreed “Shall we move to a quieter place?”

They finally made it into the War Room, where King Micah sat in which had always been his chair. He looked at the empty one next to him and sighed with a heavy chest.

“What happened to her, Casta? I mean, when I came back, we had to face Horde Prime so I focused just on that… and then the chip… “ He put a hand on the back of his neck.

“But now it’s all over” his sister added “and you need to know.”

He lowered his head. “Yes… I mean… she’s immortal, she can’t be dead, right? Please, sister, tell me everything.”

And so Castaspella told him everything about Angella’s sacrifice and the portal, and even what happened afterwards. Micah listened very attentively, and when his sister was done, he got up of his chair and exclaimed:

“So she is just stuck there… we can bring her back! Sister, we _must_ bring her back!”

“But how, Micah? Of course we will do anything in our power to bring her back, provided that it is even possible… but how do we even start?”

Her brother remained silent for a second, and then he simply said “I don’t know yet. But we will look into this. Today we just keep celebrating and resting. Tomorrow, we begin.”

Castaspella nodded with a sweet smile and added with a soft voice: “I think Glimmer will be very much on board with this. I’m in, of course.” She then casted a concerned look at him “But Micah…”

“What? What’s wrong?”

“What you are _wearing_ is what's wrong. It is simply hideous. I’ve been so preoccupied with the feast preparations that I neglected my own brother’s apparel!”

“Uh, Casta…”

“But _of course_! You’ve been stranded for years in that horrible place, you simply can’t know better! Oh, you were probably counting on me to take care of it the minute you were back! I am so sorry Micah, I’m sorry I have failed you… “ she took a very dramatic pose with her fist at the level of her heart “But rest assured, dear brother, I will right this wrong… I will start knitting right away!”

“But Casta…”

“No time to lose! Go back to the party and free your mind from this worry, I will not let you down again!”

Micah had passed too many years among beasts without his family, but he still knew better than trying to stop his sister, especially when clothing was involved. In fact, before he could even finish processing the thought, Castaspella was already rushing to her room in order to procure her knitting supplies.


	6. So, Like... We're Doing This

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our characters put on their thinking hats.

As Micah had stated the day before, today they started. He went to ask his daughter to convene a meeting and instructed her to summon all the princesses and allies. Thus, in a matter of hours, Netossa, Spinerella, Frosta, Scorpia, Perfuma, Entrapta, Emily, the two Hordaks, Mermista, Sea Hawk, Bow, Swift Wind, Adora, Catra, and Melog joined Micah, Castaspella and Glimmer in the War Room. The latter had been updated on the formers’ plans, and so, when the place was full, she immediately declared, leaning in the table:

“We’re going to save my mom”.

There was an initial silence needed by the attendees to take in the ruling Queen’s words, but then, right away, a general murmur of agreement filled the room.

“Heck yeah we are” ventured Adora.

“That sounds fun” said Mermista “But, like, are we sure that she is, like, alive or something, then?”

Micah took the floor. “Perhaps someone else would have perished after performing the deed of closing the portal. But Angella is an immortal being, and a mighty one; awfully clever.” He and his daughter let out a sight. They both missed her dearly.

“I _know_ that she is alive, guys” said Glimmer. “I can feel it. I know that it’s too much to ask based on just a feeling, but…”

“We are absolutely doing this” Sweetly, Bow put his hand on her shoulder. “That’s what the Best Friends Squad is for”. Everyone in the room smiled at her, confirming the boy’s words.

In fact, Sea Hawk wasn’t able to suppress his excited words “Friendship! Family! Adventure!”

Across the table, though, Catra caught Hordak’s eye. They both had the same guilty look on their faces, especially when Micah mentioned the portal. Catra had never been officially informed on how Angella had _passed_ , but she knew how to put two and two together, and that was all the confirmation she needed. By his look, she figured that Hordak had arrived at the same conclusion. But they both remained silent for the moment.

“So, how do we do it?” Netossa asked.

“We were hoping we could put our heads together to come up with something” answered Micah.

“Well, if you want to free her from the dimension the portal opened, why don’t you just…? Oooooh, because it’s broken, and so are the rest, right, I get it.”

“Wait, what do you mean, Entrapta?” Adora turned to her.

“The sword” she said “We were able to open the portal in the first place because of the runestone inside of She-Ra’s sword, which, as you all know, it’s first ones’ technology”

Scorpia said with a very low voice that almost no one heard “Right, right, of course I knew that, totally”.

Catra flinched unperceptively when Entrapta said _we_.

“But what did you mean by _the rest_?” asked Perfuma.

“Why, the rest of the runestones, of course. The princesses’ runestones. They are first ones’ technology, too. But when She-Ra destroyed the Heart of Etheria which connected all their tech together, and thus releasing the magic back to the planet, all that tech was broken, too. So now they’re pretty much useless.” She elaborated.

“But I can still make _these_!” Frosta exclaimed and covered her two hands in two ice gauntlets. “And Glimmer can teleport, I’ve seen her. We still have our magic”.

“Because the runes weren’t the source of the magic, rather, they were its _prison_. The first ones captured most of the planet’s magic in them, possibly to control it, and that’s why you needed to be connected to them to use it. But these two, for example,” she pointed at Netossa and Spinerella with her purple hair “never needed any runestone to use their magic because, as theirs is not elemental, the first ones didn’t capture it.”

“Huh, I always wondered why we didn’t get a stone” said Netossa in thought.

“That’s right, darling” Her wife smiled at her.

“Wait, so Salineas’ runestone is now, like, garbage?” Mermista asked. “Ugh, I always hated that thing. It was a nightmare trying to get it to match the rest of my masterful decoration.”

“Bu— wait, wait, hold up a second. Why would you need any of those stones for, anyway?” asked Catra with a knot in her throat.

“To open the portal again, of course” Entrapta replied nonchalantly.

“What?! But wasn’t it super dangerous enough the first time?” Catra shouted. Adora touched her hand gently to calm her, but was worried too.

“Yeah, didn’t it, like, almost destroy space-time forever, or whatever?” ventured Mermista.

“Well, of course it did, because of the planetary intermission! But we’re not in Despondos anymore.”

“So I take it that there’s no more of this planetary intermission now? And it would be safe to open it?” asked Glimmer.

“Yes, exactly!”

“But would it be safe to _close_ it, too? No one would have to stay behind like Queen Angella did in the first place?” said Adora cautiously.

“Of course!” Entrapta answered happily.

Adora put the thinking face that she does when she’s confused. “Wait… Of course it would be safe? Or of course someone would have to stay behind?”

“Oh, I see the confusion provoked by the ambiguity of my answer, my bad!” chanted the geek princess. “Let me be more clear: Of course _and_ of course not.”

Adora still had the same dumb expression on her face. Catra chuckled for the first time since she had entered the room. “You’re so silly. It is safe to both open and close it, it’s what’s she’s saying” she explained her.

“Oh, right… I mean” Adorah cleared her throat, embarrassed “yeah, I understood… the second time…” Her girlfriend chuckled again and took her by the hand under the table.

“Okay. Let’s recap” said Castaspella “So, in order to bring Angella back, we could, in theory, reopen that portal. But to do that, we would need some kind of first ones’ runestone? Which would be impossible to get, since all of them were ruined when the magic of the planet was set free by She-Ra. Is that correct?”

“Very!” Entrapta nodded.

Glimmer lowered her head, disappointed. “So we know a way to save my mum but we’re lacking the main element… is there nothing we can do?”

“Without a first ones’ runestone, I’m afraid so.”

Micah gave her daughter a comforting hug, which she welcomed. And then, someone said:

“I… I might know a way.”

At once, everyone turned their heads to look at Hordak.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a bit longer. I hope you had as much fun reading it as I did writing it!


	7. We Need to Talk About Shadow Weaver

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hordak has some relevant information.

Everybody was surprised at Hordak’s words. Most of the other attendees had, in fact, thought little of him since the victory against Horde Prime. So it was Entrapta the first to speak after he did:

“You do? That’s great, Hordak!” With the tips of her hair, she took a notepad and a pen out of a pocket in her clothes. “Do explain, please!”

“Well…” he was clearly uncomfortable, but seemed to liven up after Entrapta’s intercession. “This happened about ten years ago, but I remember it well. I recall Shadow Weaver approaching me to talk about some runestone she believed had found with her dark arts, and that could aid the Horde’s cause.” At the mention of Shadow Weaver’s name, Catra and Adora looked at each other with a bittersweet expression.  
  
“I believe she said it was called the Spirit Ember, and that it contained elemental fire powers. I knew perfectly well by then that what she really was after, more than serving me, was to obtain as much power as possible. She was of more use to me with access to a runestone, of course, that’s why I consented to her drawing magic from the Black Garnet” Everyone gazed at Scorpia, but she seemed unaffected by this mention. “But” he continued “I was sure that if I allowed her to gain _too_ much power, she would eventually turn on me. A second runestone in her hands was dangerous, then. So I forbade the Spirit Ember’s search.”

“I have never heard of such a runestone, one with fire powers” said Castaspella.

“But” Micah noted “even if this Spirit Ember existed, would it not be as ruined as the other stones are? Since that was the result of She-Ra restoring the magic from the heart.”

“Yeah, and I knew Shadow Weaver” added Catra “Believe me, if there was a way for her to be more powerful, she would have gone after it, no matter how much you ordered not to, Hordak.”

He looked at Entrapta next to him, who hadn’t said anything all this while to not interrupt Hordak, even though it was very exciting for her to hear about a mysterious runestone and was already formulating a thousand theories in her head. He then took a deep breath, and said:

“The answer to all of your remarks is the same, the part at which I hadn’t arrived yet. She had detected the presence of the Spirit Ember in one of Etheria’s moons, Yudiah.”

Scorpia gasped loudly. “Plot twist!” she said.

“Wait, wait. On a _moon_?” Adora repeated.

“Yes” answered Hordak again “That’s why Shadow Weaver couldn’t go after it; not even her dark magic could give her access to a Moon, or anywhere outside the planet, for that matter. What she came to ask of me, that day, was to build a ship that could reach it; I was the only one in the Horde with the engineering knowledge to do so. ”

“Yeah, I guess that does make sense” Catra grumbled. She was upset thinking about Shadow Weaver, although not sure in what way.

“So, you think” Castaspella was deep in thought “that because that runestone is located at Yudiah, and not Etheria itself, it wasn’t affected by the destruction of the heart?”

“I cannot know for sure” Hordak replied “But I think it is a possibility indeed.”

Glimmer looked at her skilled friend. “What do you think, Entrapta?”

“Well, I think that it is a solid theory, and theories must always be tested for science’s benefit!” she squeaked happily “And to help your mother, in this case” she added with a sincere smile.

Glimmer then spoke to her father. “What do you think, dad?”

“I think we have nothing to lose” He rested his hands in his daughter’s shoulders in an affectionate way “and the world to gain”.

The Queen smiled at him and then turned to all her friends “Guys… are we doing this?”

“We sure are” replied a grinning Adora. “We’re going to space again!”

“Off to Yudiah!” exclaimed Bow.

  
  
And finally, Catra added: “Yeah, let’s do this”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know about “the legend of the fire princess” comic; in fact I’m taking some names from there. But for the purposes of this story, I have to change everything from that comic. I hope that’s alright (Also, I absolutely love fire aesthetics so I couldn’t resist what I'm about to do). I do want to do this as canonically as I can, but I still need a story (: Nothing from the actual show is ever changed, though. Just the comic.


	8. Scorpia Can Do This

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bunch of talk about responsibilities.

It was unanimously agreed that Yudiah would be explored to find any signs of the Spirit Ember. It was not as easy, however, to agree on _who_ would be chosen for this quest. Glimmer was the natural choice to lead the mission, or so she thought; she was soon reminded of her being the current ruling Queen, and that Bright Moon couldn’t be left unprotected, even if there was —finally— some apparent peace.

“Either my dad or my aunt can fulfill this role while I’m gone” she protested.

“I would be happy to do that for you, Glimmer” her dad replied “But I’m not confident in my ruling skills, after all the time I’ve spent between tech beasts and wild flora, without anyone to talk to”.

“I can help you with that” Castaspella offered “I can put in charge my second in command in Mystacor temporarily, and stay here to help you while you re-learn everything you once knew. Although you can’t forget compassion and fairness, which is the most important part of the job” she winked an eye at his brother to make him at ease.

“Thank you, sister. I think I would be more reassured with your presence. You should go find that runestone, baby girl. That mission is better suited for you younglings. But _when_ we open that portal, I’ll be going after Angella.” He declared with a decided semblance.

“Thanks, dad. We’ll talk about that once we have everything to open the portal. First things first.”

“I am coming, too, and so is my _bow_!” Said Bow while he lifted his own bow over his head, excitedly.

“Wait, I didn’t see you bringing that thing to this room, where did you get that from?” asked Catra with an expression between suspiciousness and incredulity.

“I leave a spare one in this room all the time, for emphatic purposes!” he said, lifting the bow again.

“Thanks, Bow, I knew I could count on you” Glimmer smiled at him “What about you, Adora?”

“Oh, Adora is coming, and so is She-Ra!” she said pointing her two thumbs at herself.

“Uh, can I come?” an unsure voice said, rising shyly one of her pincers. Everybody turned to look at Scorpia.

“Sure…” Glimmer said “but I thought you would want to stay here and rebuild your kingdom from the remains of the Fright Zone”.

“Oh, gosh, me? A kingdom? Nah, I wouldn’t be good at that. Besides, I have no people. Everyone left” she said, shrugging.

“And that’s why you _should_ do it, so everyone can come back to their home!” suggested Perfuma, while taking one of her pincers between her hands. “I believe in you, Scorpia! You can do this”.

“I’m not so su—“

“Yeah!” Catra got up suddenly and slapped the table. “You can do this, Scorpia! You—” she stopped mid-sentence, trying to gather some courage to brush off the guilt she was feeling “You deserve to have your kingdom rebuilt. And not just that, but… I think— I _know_ you would be the kindest ruler it could ever have”.

Perfuma looked at Catra grinning, and Scorpia did so in total shock.

“Wha— Whoah, Catra… you really think so?” she asked with tears in her eyes.

“Yeah, I do” she said firmly, and sat again. “And… I’m going to help you. I’m going to start being a true friend to you, like you always were to me. I’m gonna make up for everything, Scorpia. You’ll see.” Adora looked at her girlfriend with the most loving eyes, shot her a tender smile, and intertwined her fingers with Catra’s. Scorpia wasn’t tearing up anymore, but straightforwardly crying her eyes out. 

The War Room was the most silent it had been since the beginning of the meeting. Everybody was attentively looking and hearing at them. But something suddenly dawned on Catra.

“Although, I also have a debt to the Queen— the former Queen.” She said looking at Glimmer, who was in turn looking back at her with serious but kind eyes. “I also have to go find the runestone. It is my responsibility, too. Spark— Glimmer’s mother went away because of me, not even Hordak is to blame”  
  
“Who, me?” asked Wrong Hordak, who giggled and winked at no one in particular.

“No, I mean, uh… first Hordak, I guess. When the portal was finished… Entrapta would have warned him in time and he would have listened, if it wasn’t for me. It’s my fault. My responsibility. I also have to make this right, too. So I don’t know… I don’t know what…”

While Adora, worried about her, squeezed Catra’s hand in support, Scorpia cleared her eyes and exclaimed:

“It’s decided, then. _We_ will rebuild the Fright Zone, and we will do it when we get back from the moon!”

Catra looked up at her. It took her a second to take in Scorpia’s words, but then she smiled and replied:  
  
“Thank you, _bestie_.”

“Alright, Catra, I think that’s enough of making Scorpia cry for today” Said Perfuma giggling and leaning in her girlfriend, who was effectively crying again.

“No”.

Everyone looked at Hordak.

“ _I_ will rebuild it.” He turned his head to Scorpia “It was me who took your home from you, Princess Scorpia. As Catra said in respect to the Queen, _this_ is my fault, and my responsibility. I am sure she has much to compensate to you, but this in particular must be done by me.”

“Wow, this is even better that Mer-Mysteries, I’m totally living for this” said Mermista while Sea Hawk, next to her, chanted “Friendship! Redemption!”

“Uh… you sure, Lord Hord— uh, I mean… Hordak?” asked Scorpia.

“Yes, I am sure” replied very happily Wrong Hordak.

“Okay, buddie, we _really_ need to come up with a new name for you” said Netossa to the former.

“What about _Wrongie_?” proposed Frosta investedly.

“Oh, I’m not sure that sounds ri—“ Spinerella began to say.

“I LOVE IT!” proclaimed Wrongie.

“Well, if he loves it…” Netossa said to her wife, who nodded, still rather puzzled.

Hordak (the first one) cleared his throat rather loudly.

“Apologies” he said somewhat annoyed by the frivolous interruptions. “Yes, I am sure, Princess Scorpia. Please, allow me to do this.”

“Yeah, okay… I guess that’s okay, right?” She looked at Perfuma, who smilingly reassured her.

“Alright” Glimmer called for order. “So that’s Bow, Adora, Catra, Scorpia, and me. Anybody else is coming?”

“Ooh, ooh, me!” Perfuma offered enthusiastically. “My people have always managed on their own, they don’t really need a leader. My position is more of an honorary nature.” She chuckled “Do you get it? _Nature_?” and grew a flower in the palm of her hand.

“Oh, Nature! I get it! That’s so good!” Scorpia laughed.

“Great, so Perfuma too.” Glimmer knew that all the laughing was a good sign, especially after such a fierce war, but she couldn’t help getting impatient. She wanted to go to Yudiah and find the runestone already. The sooner they got it, the sooner she would get her mom back. “What about the rest? Is anyone else coming to Space with us?”

Entrapta, who had been absorbed tinkering with what looked like a tiny Emily (so tiny that it fit her hand), suddenly gave a start at the mention of space.

“Are we going to Space? Can I come?!”

“Yes, Entrapta, we’re going to Yudiah to search for the runestone and recue my mom…”

“Oh, right! I forgot, sorry! And I also just remembered that I can’t go”

“ _You_ ’re not going to Space?” Bow asked, shocked.

“I can’t, I have to help Hordak rebuild the Fright Zone for Scorpia. But here!” She placed the little tiny robot in the round table. “Take Emily’s daughter with you!”

“What does she do?” Adora asked, looking curiously at it.

“She reacts to First Ones’ tech. If the runestone is there, she will be able to locate it once you’re in the moon”.

“That’s great, Entrapta! Thanks!” Glimmer seemed relieved. She was worried about taking too long to search the entire moon to find the Spirit Ember. “You’re a good friend”. Entrapta smiled cheerfully.

Finally, it was decided that no one else would join the team. Frosta, Netossa, Spinnerella, and Mermista felt they had more responsibility towards their kingdoms than Perfuma or Entrapta, and Salineas especially needed much attention. Catra felt bad about this too, but she thought that giving another speech would probably irritate Mermista, more than making amends. And she was terrified of her. She was the _water_ Princess. But she decided that she would do it somehow once they were back.

Sea Hawk compromised to help her girlfriend’s kingdom, too, and Swift Wind declared that he wasn’t made for Space, not even a moon, so he would stay and help Wrongie find his place in Etheria. Actual Emily refused to leave Entrapta’s side once again, and Melog, of course, would always accompany Catra.

When all was decided, Bow shouted eagerly:

“Best Friend Squad Trip: Extended Version!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I'm abusing Italics.


	9. Cheaters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catradora and Scorfuma. Basically.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before you start reading, I'd like to apologize. I'm very stressed with my finals and inspiration didn't care to make me a visit. You will also notice that I wrote this after Noelle and Molly's streaming. All wonderful four hours of them.

The days passed, the preparations were made, and they finally took off in Mara’s ship. Adora, sitting at the commando throne, was pensive looking through the window, observing Etheria. Catra approached her:

“Hey, Adora”

Her girlfriend turned her head to smile at her.

“Hey”

Catra took a seat next to her.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m just looking at home from up here… I never get tired of it. It’s so beautiful.”

“Yeah”.

“You know what? After we rescue Angella, we should explore it. The whole planet. Ooh, we could make maps as we go!”

“Maps?” Catra chuckled “I’ll leave that to you.”

“Really? Well, more fun for me” she made a pouty face, and her girlfriend laughed heartily.

“I swear, you’re such a dork.” She added and then kissed her on the cheek. “Isn’t this weird?”

“What is?” asked Adora.

“Just… sitting here, with nothing to do. Until we reach the stupid moon, at least.”

“Yeah, it is. But I kinda like it. It’s, I don’t know, peaceful”.

“You’re right” she jumped to her lap just as she did the first time they were in that ship together. “This is super peaceful” She added teasingly and brushing her tail against her face.

“Ooooh, so you wanna play, huh? I’m gonna make you regret it” said Adora with a smug face.

“I’d like to see you tr—“ Catra was interrupted because of the beaming light her girlfriend had become at that moment. An instant later, She-ra was holding Catra in her arms, while she got up the throne. “Hiiiiiiss! Put me down! You cheater!”

“Well, it’s not like you didn’t cheat back at the horde. Just, like, all the time” she said very playfully.

“I never cheated, you liar” Catra said with a flat voice.

“You did! Admit it”

“I will not. Now _put me down_ ” she demanded, emphasizing the last three words separately.

“I will, as soon as you admit that you cheated”

Before Catra could reply, Scorpia and Perfuma entered the room.

“Hey, guys!” said the former.

“My word, it’s She-Ra! Why did you transform, Adora?” asked Perfuma curiously.

“Oh, nothing, nothing” she put Catra down, who stuck out her tongue to her mockingly, and then turned back to her normal self. “We were just fooling around…”

“Guys” Catra said suddenly, looking closely at her friends. “You… did you…?” she pointed at their heads

Adora looked too, and noticed that Scorpia was wearing Perfuma’s green tiara on her forehead, and that the latter was wearing Scorpia’s red earrings. She then exclaimed:

“You guys!”

They detected what their friends were referring to, and slightly blushed.

“Well, we figure… why wait any longer, you know?” Perfuma said while Scorpia surrounded her waist with one of her pincers. “We love each other and know that we always will.”

“So we might as well make it official!” continued Scorpia.

Adora let out a happy squeak and ran to hug them.

“Congratulations! I’m so happy for you two!”

Catra came nearer them, too, and calmly joined in the hug, smiling.  
  
“Yeah. Congratulations”

“What’s happening here?” Bow and Glimmer appeared in the room, and when they saw them hugging, Bow first hurried to join them, and then Glimmer after him.

“This is nice” she said “But, uh, what are we hugging for?”

“We do not question Best Friends Squad’s hugs, Glimmer! We just hug” said Bow merrily.

Before any of the other four could tell them anything, Darla’s voiced announced:

“Destination reached. Prepare for landing”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you'll keep reading, I _think_ I have some interesting ideas!


	10. Well, That's Stupid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team has made it to Yudiah.

They got off the ship with their space-suits on, since no one knew anything about Yudiah’s surface; or anything at all, really. Even Melog had one special suit made for them, just in case. But the moment Darla opened the ship’s door, they saw green. Perfuma exclaimed very excitedly:

“Look at all these plants! I’ve never seen anything like this before! No, hang on, that one there is the same in Etheria! And that one, too! But look at this beautiful rarity here! Ooh, I wonder if we have our powers here, let me check” She pointed at the one she had called rare with her palm open, and the little plant, which was some kind of pink bush, shook a little. She let out an “Oh!”, and her friends looked at her expectantly.

“And?” asked Adora.

“Well” she answered “I could definitely feel something, and this little guy did, too. But it’s not like home, it seems very, uh” she searched for a word “limited, I guess.”

“Let me try” Glimmer stepped up and, with great effort, teleported barely an inch to where she was previously standing. She gasped for air and said “Perfuma’s right, our powers here are almost nonexistent. I suppose it’s the same for you, Scorpia?”

Scorpia raise a pincer and pointed it to the air. Only a tiny trace of a current could be seen.

“Yup, definitely the same” she said.

“I guess it makes sense. Your powers are connected to Etheria’s magic, and while we’re not too far from it, we’re still, well, out of it” Bow shrugged.

“Well, we still got She-Ra” said Adora encouragingly.

“Yeah, and I never needed stupid magic, anyway” added Catra with a satisfied expression “We’ll make do.”

“Do you think it’s safe to take our helmets off?” Glimmer asked.

“Yes!” answered Perfuma! “Like I said, I know some of these plants. They could never survive in a hostile atmosphere” and to prove it, she was the first to take her helmet off. The rest followed her.

“Great!” exclaimed Bow “Now let’s see if we can make this little one work” he took Emily’s daughter from his pocket and gently, put her on the ground.

“How does it work?” asked Catra curiously.

“I don’t know. Let’s give her a moment” he answered.

“What? You didn't ask Entrapta?”

“I was busy planning for any danger we might have to face here, I didn’t remember t-“

“Guys, I got it!” Adora intervened, squatting next to Emily’s daughter. The little robot was moving already, beeping happily.

“Aw, she’s so cute! How did you do it, Adora?” the boy asked his friend.

“Well, I sort of, um, believed in her and then she, um, kind of activated herself all on her own” she said proudly.

“You’re such a dork” Catra chuckled and crouched to kiss her softly, which she instantly regretted as the others went “AWWW!”

“Let’s just follow this stupid robot!” she said quickly to hide her embarrassment, and went after it.

“You know, Catra?” Adora told her when she caught up to her “You complain that Swift Wind always introduces himself with the same catchphrase, or that Frosta yells _Bouncer!_ randomly now and then, but you can’t stop calling something stupid every two seconds” she mocked her with a teasing smile.

“Yes, I can! I’ll stop saying the word, it’s stupid, anyway. I mean— shut up, that doesn’t count! Starting now!”

Adora couldn’t stop laughing “Oh, I love you so much” she brushed up a tear from her eye, still smiling.

“Tsss. I love you too, idiot”

“That’s the same as stupid”

“No, it’s not!” she made an angry face, but Melog, trotting next to them, was very cheerful.


	11. Data Never Lies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emily's daughter appears to have found something.

The team followed Emily’s daughter for about two hours, crossing through different types of vegetal lands. Along the way, the only signs of animal life they saw were some kind of birds, insects, and some sort of shimmering squirrels that peeped at them from trees. Perfuma was fascinated by all the unfamiliar kinds of flora. She discussed them with Scorpia, whose knowledge on plants wasn’t still very thorough, but loved to hear her wife talk about them, nonetheless.

Looking at them, and then back at Catra and Adora, whose hands had been intertwined during all the journey, Glimmer couldn’t help but think about Bow and herself. She gathered some courage and spoke to him:

“Hey, Bow?”

“Yes?”

“Do you think we cou— uhh… so remember that time back on Etheria when we left Catra in her way to Adora, at the heart, and we said to each other—“  
  


“I love you”, the boy finished.

Both of them were blushing very red.

  
  
“Yeah, of course I do. We never got to talk about it, huh?”

“Yes, exactly! And I, well… I meant it “she said.

“Me too” he took her hand, still red “Do you want to make it… official?”

“I would love that” Glimmer answered, squeezing his hand.

They were then about to call the other four members of the team and told them the news, but suddenly Emily’s daughter stopped and beeped, while a tiny green light flashed in her body.

“What happened?” asked Adora “Why did she stop?”

“I don’t know, but it looks as if she has found something” Bow answered.

  
“But there’s nothing here, we’re in the middle of a clearing” Glimmer argued. “There’s only grass and insects. I can only see the woods from here.”

“I think we should call Entrapta, so she can tell us what it means” ventured Catra.

“Yeah, that’s a good idea” said Adora, taking out her communication device from a backpack she was wearing.

It wasn’t long until a head with long purple hair popped up in the screen.

“Hey, guys!” Entrapta waved one of her ponytails “How is it going?”

“Hi, Entrapta, we have been following Emily’s daughter and—“

“Ohh, isn’t she cute?” she interrupted Adora “Tell her hi from me!”

“Sure, will do” she tried to regain the floor “But list—“

“Hey, Scorpia!” Entrapta called out to her, and Scorpia got closer to the screen to answer:

“Hey, pal!”

“Scorpia, the new Fright Zone is amazing! We still have lots to do, but we’re upgrading it with top notch tech, you’re going to love it!”

“Wow, that sounds so cool, Entrapta! I can’t wait to see it!” Scorpia replied gaily.

“Hey” Catra took the device from Adora’s hands “Entrapta. Please listen. We have been following your robot through these parts, but she has suddenly stopped and now she’s flashing a green light.”  
  
“That means she has find it! First Ones’ tech!” she chanted.

“But that’s the problem, there’s nothing here” Adora said “Only plants and bugs”

“Well that’s weird” Entrapta said, pensive “Her margin error is only of 0.02%. It should be there. Perhaps it’s invisible?”

Perfuma extended her arms and walked awkwardly around Emily, trying to find something.

“It doesn’t look like it” she said, worried.

“Hmm. Connect her to the device, so I can download her data”

Bow took out a cable and plugged it into Emily’s daughter on one side, and the other into the device.

“Great, I got it. I will look into this pool data and call you back later with any news! Bye!”

Entrapta disappeared from the little screen, leaving all her friends in Yudiah rather puzzled.

“Well, I guess we just wait” Catra shrugged.

But before anyone could say anything else, Rogelio came suddenly out of the woods, charging at them with a big mace.


	12. Too Many Rogelios

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An enemy has appeared.

Of all the 6 members of the team, Catra had the best sight by far.

“Wait, is that… Rogelio?!”

“What?!” exclaimed Adora “That’s impossible!”

“I know!! But…” Catra adopted a defensive posture. Rogelio or not, the only thing she knew for sure was that whoever that was, they were charging at them. She jumped in front of Adora, even though she could turn into a giant legendary warrior at will.

The figure came closer with their mace ready to attack, and Scorpia yelled:

“That’s not Rogelio!”

That was all Adora needed to hear.

“ _For the Honor of Grayskull!_ ”

She transformed into She-Ra just in time, since the fake Rogelio was not alone. At least ten lizard-looking creatures were surrounding them. But that was nothing for her. She easily took them all out in a second.

“What… who are these people?” Perfuma asked.

“I don’t know, but they really look like Rogelio, our friend from back in the horde. They must be the same species.”

“Ohhh, yes, I remember him!” said Bow “He didn’t like it when Kyle would come talk to me when I was their prisoner, all those years ago”

“I wonder what happened to them” She-Ra said, looking at Catra, who had a pitiful expression on her face “You know, the three of them. Rogelio, Kyle, and Lonnie.”

“They escaped from the Horde” Scorpia answered “I think they went to the Crimson Waste”

“Oh, good for them!” Adora never liked having to fight them, even if it wasn’t anything compared to having to fight Catra.

“I have so many amends to do…” Catra sighed “I’ll try to look for them when this is over”

“But how did you know the first one that came at us wasn’t your friend, Scorpia?” Glimmer asked her “Adora and Catra didn’t seem to be able to tell them apart”

“I don’t know, other than the lizard thingy, they look very different to me. Look at his cheeks! They’re nothing like Rogelio’s” She said, pointing at the passed out lizard lying on the grass.

“Awww, you’re such a good friend, my love!” Perfuma hugged her wife very lovingly.

Adora and Catra looked at each other, both embarrassed _and_ relieved that they weren’t the only one who couldn’t tell them apart.

“What do we do now, though?” Bow asked “We’re still waiting for Entrapta, but if we wait here, more of these lizard guys could com—“

He couldn’t even finish the sentence before more lizard people _did_ come at them, all of them wielding different arms. She-Ra took the offensive again, but this time, there were too many of them. The other five had to join her in the fight. Bow fired arrows masterfully, Glimmer took down many with her staff, Catra and Scorpia didn’t need any weapons other than nails and pincers, and Perfuma was able to pull enough roots with her limited powers to make the enemy trip.

But it seemed that for any opponent that they defeated, two more came to replace them. Soon, they were completely overpowered and surrounded. Not even She-Ra could keep up the pace.

“Guys! What do we do?!” she yelled.

“I don’t know, there’s too many of them!” Catra said, trying to catch her breath.

It was then that a fire broke out. Flames started engulfing many of the lizards, making them flee. A pace opened up for the team to run away from the circular spot they were trapped in.

“Over here!” someone said from the end of that pace “Quick!”

Adora thought of the possibility of being lured into a trap. Just a few hours ago they didn’t even know if they would be able to breathe on that moon. But if it was a trap, it was really well thought-out, because there was no alternative for them whatsoever.

“Let’s go!” she instructed her friends, and led them through the pace it had been open.

A tall girl, who clearly could perform fire magic since she was throwing fireballs at the lizards from her bare hands, greeted them.

“Hi!” she said “I’m Candila. Come with me!”


	13. The Extension of Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The new stranger that calls herself Candila leads the group to safety.

The team led by She-Ra followed their new acquaintance through the woods, which she seemed to know really well. The multiple lizards were chasing after them, but after a short while sorting through trees and bushes, they finally lost them. Candila made a sign to indicate the rest of the group to stop.

“What is happening? Who are you?” She-Ra whispered.

“We have to wait for the sign. And I already told you, I’m Candila” she said with a frowning smile.

Before anyone could reply, something very bright crossed the sky above them, and it made bird noises.

“That’s the signal” The newcomer explained “Let’s go, try to be quiet”

Once again, She-Ra hesitated for a moment, trying to evaluate any possible dangers. But once again, she decided the best move was to do as this Candila said. She turned to her friends and nodded. They followed.

Candila led them to what it seemed a dead end at first, but before they could even form the thought of being trapped, she started moving rocks, vines, and trunks, and the entrance to a cave was revealed.

“Come on” she was still whispering “I’ll answer any questions—and I’ll ask some questions myself — once we’re inside. Go ahead the tunnel inside the cavern; I have some decoration to do here” as she finished speaking and everybody went in, she started covering the entrance up again from the inside. Then she walked up to them.

“Hi again” her smile was wide and seemed genuine “So, you already know my name. What’s yours?”

“Hold on, why did you save us?” She-Ra asked.

“Because you seem to need some saving” Candila answered “And it also meant kicking some lizards’ butts, so there’s that, too!” she almost chanted.

“What—Who are those things, exactly?” Glimmer asked this time.

“They call themselves something else in their own language, of course, but we just refer to them as lizards” Candila shrugged “It’s very simple but effective. No need to get fancy with the enemy” she laughed softly.

“Wait— _we_?” said Catra in a distrusting tone “Who’s _we_?”

“Me and my people. The Ember Nation” she said “Now, I can imagine that you could probably spend the few next hours questioning me, but could I ask some questions myself, first? You probably already know more about me than I about you all” she added, firmly but without losing certain kindness that her eyes seemed to show since the first moment they saw her. “I mean, I’m kind of taking a leap of faith here. I saw you fighting against our enemies so I decided to trust you, but it would be really great if you could give me at least your names, before going any further.”

Candila was more or less the same height as Adora, and wider than Spinnerella. The combination of her dark skin, her bright yellow eyes, and the literal glow of her golden and orange-iridescent long dreadlocks gave her a very warm appearance. She reminded Adora of someone, but she wasn’t sure of whom, exactly.

“You’re right” She-Ra said, and then made all the presentations. “And thanks for the help, by the way”

“You’re welcome!” she said cheerfully. “Can I keep asking a few more questions? Where did you folks come from? Are you from space, too?”

“Uh, sort of? We’re from Etheria, the planet to this moon” Bow replied.

“You’re from Etheria?!” she squeaked “That is so cool, now I have a thousand more questions!”

“Yay!” Scorpia chanted suddenly.

“Why did you cheer, Scorpia?” Glimmer asked her friend.

“Oh, I don’t know, but she just seemed so happy that I got excited” she blushed, a little embarrassed.

“Oh, you’re so nice!” Candila beamed at her “Are all people from Etheria this nice?”

Both Perfuma and Catra replied at the same time, although their answers weren’t the same.

“Yes!”

“No”

She-Ra chortled and with that, she glowed back to Adora.

“Um—“ The fiery girl’s smile went out for the first time since they had entered the cavern “What did just what here?”

“Oh!” Adora understood her confusion “It’s, uh— huh, well, I can sort of, you know, turn into a very tall legendary magic warrior when I need to” she tried to explain nervously.

“It’s a long story” simply said Catra, keeping her cool.

“Wait, magic? You can do magic here, too? I thought I was the only one who could!” she shrieked excitedly, and little flames ignited the tip of her dreadlocks for a second. The others startled at this and Candila noticed. “Oh, sorry about that! My magic is deeply connected to my emotions and feelings, so sometimes I do that when I get too excited or things like that” she explained, blushing a little.

“Don’t you get burned?” Glimmer asked.

“No, fire cannot hurt me” she said dismissively “Fire is a part of me, and I’m an extension of fire itself. But oh, _holy smokes_!” she yelled suddenly “I’ve been keeping you here for too long, I’m so sorry! Please come with me!”

She led them once again, this time through the tunnels in the cavern that seemed to lead underground, until they reached a big, wooden door with strange carvings. She knocked it twice and it slowly opened, revealing a big enough, subterranean city.

“Welcome to the Ember Nation!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you're enjoying reading this. Like I said, I love fire aesthetics (and fire in general), so I'm putting a lot of love in this!


	14. The Stars Underground

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adora and the rest learn about the cavern city at which they have arrived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter and the next one I have in mind might be too boring, because I have to tell the story of these people for everything to make sense. And you came here for SPOP characters stories, not some randoms' made up by me! So I'm really sorry. But I promise I will get back to our favorite characters soon. Thank you so much for not giving up on this fic!

Even though they were definitely in a cavern underground, Adora marveled at the sight of its earthy skie: the rocky top of the place was full of _stars_. Or rather, full of burning rocks that Candila had ignite with her power to look like an actual starry skye, as they learned later. She apparently had a fascination with stars; the full population of the current Ember Nation had grown up without them, but they had many books from their ancestor that dated back to a millennium, and Candila had read all of them, dreaming to see actual stars one day.

Which she did, not long ago, when Etheria and its moons were brought back to the universe from Despondos.

“They’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen!” she told them enthusiastically, while caressing a star-shape pendant hanging from her neck. The end of her dreadlocks ignited once again. “During one of my raids against a lizard outpost in the exterior, a sudden, very bizarre light surrounded everything I could see. And then… I saw them! Stars, _actual_ stars looking down on me, showering everything with their light! It is definitely one of my favorite memories ever.”

They group of friends looked at each other, wandering who should tell the tale of how stars came to appear in Yudiah’s sky.

They were sitting in a comfortable room inside one of the many stone residences they had seen when they entered the city. Candila made the arrangements to house them, and then she left for a while, apparently to go to announce their presence to the rest of the city. They did call it a city, but by its size and the number of inhabitants, it was more of a village. 

When she came back, she brought the newcomers some food and blankets for the beds, and once their stomachs were full, they began exchanging stories. The Etherians took turns to explain to Candila the recent events that took place back home, up until the defeat of Horde Prime.

She listened very attentively to their story without interruptions. Once they finished, she sighed and smiled relieved.

“I’m so glad! We had heard of Horde Prime, when other space travelers like you visited us. It was very recently ago. They told us they had joined some kind of Eherian rebellion, that they were fighting Horde Prime and his control of the universe. They wanted to recruit us, that’s what they came for, to spread the word and unite against that tyrant, and we really wanted to join, but we’re barely surviving ourselves here. We’ve been at war with the lizards since our ancestors arrived to Yudiah so many centuries ago, and we’re only growing weaker, and they’re only growing stronger.” She was caressing her pendant again. “They understood and left between smiles, they were so kind! But most of us felt very guilty of not being able to help. I am beyond elated to hear that he is no more, that Prime. I’d like to formally apologize, though, for not taking part in his defeat. I assure you we would have if we weren’t struggling as much as we are. Our subterranean crops are failing more and more, and we can’t get enough from our raids in the exterior.”

“No, that’s okay!” Adora hurried to say. “You don’t have to feel guilty, I mean, you’re taking us in and feeding us when you barely had enough for yourself? We’re so sorry and grateful.”

“Yes we are, we wouldn’t have eaten your food if we knew about its shortage” Perfuma added “Perhaps I may be able to help with your crops; I know _a lot_ about plants, believe me” she giggled.

“And the rest of us can help you further raiding those lizards” said Bow.

“Yeah, kicking butts is our specialty” Catra smirked.

“We could really use the help, thank you!” Candila said.

Glimmer was silent. She had been brooding on the fact that these people called themselves the _Ember_ nation. That couldn’t be a coincidence, right?

“So, Candila” she finally broke her silence “You said your ancestors arrived to Yudiah a long time ago. Where did they come from?”

“Oh! I can tell you all about them, I’ve read so many history books! But I think that’s enough chatting for today, we all should really rest now” she said, getting up “Get some sleep, I’ll bring you some breakfast tomorrow!”

“Yes, of course. But, just very quick, can you tell me where they came from?” Glimmer insisted.

“Sure. They came from Etheria, that’s why I was so excited when I learned that you guys are from there, too! I will tell you more tomorrow about them, and you can tell me all about Etheria, too, if that’s okay!” She said cheerfully.

“Thank you, that sounds great” Glimmer said, half absent-minded. If they came from Ehteria and they’re the Ember Nation, the Ember Spirit had to be there. And she was resolved to find it, no matter what.


	15. Sweet Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back to Catradora 💛

“There you are!” Entrapta said loudly on the screen of Adora’s com. “I’ve been trying to reach you, but it seemed as if there was no coverage. So I amplified the range, I’m glad it worked!”

Entrapta had called them shortly after Candila left. They were about to go into their rooms to sleep when the com ringed. Scorpia and Perfuma were already resting.

“Is it maybe because we’re underground?” Bow inquired.

“Yes! Does that mean you have found the runestone already?”

“What does that mean?” asked Glimmer

“Well, I checked Emily’s daughter data, and the reason why there was no First Ones’ tech where she had stopped was because it was at that exact spot, but _underground_.” She explained with her habitual enthusiasm. “But if you’re already underground, I suppose you have already found that out yourselves?”

“I had my suspicions since we came down here, to be honest” Glimmer answered “but we haven’t seen or heard of it, yet”

“Well it’s definitely there!” Entrapta chirped. “Data never lies!”

After a lengthy retelling of everything that had happened since her last call, and after Entrapta’s _many_ questions about the Ember Nation and their underground city, she became satisfied for the moment and logged off. So Bow and Glimmer headed for their room and then Adora, Catra, and Melog went to theirs. The furniture in the room was quite simple and humble, but the stone walls were beautifully decorated with bright paintings all over.

Fortunately, the bed was big enough for two people and a magical cat pet. Adora slid into the silky sheets first, and then opened her arms in Catra’s direction, inviting her in. Catra didn’t hesitate.

“We’re cuddling in a moon” said Adora with her eyes already closed. “Can you believe it?”

  
  
“The corny dork that you are?” Catra teased “Yeah, I’m already used to it” she added placing her head comfortably in Adora’s neck gap, purring.

“Pffft” She laughed “Calling _me_ corny is not that effective when you start to purr right after” she tightened the embrace.

“Shut up, dork” Catra smiled “I’m trying to sleep over here”

“Okay, okay” Adora conceded. But after barely two minutes in silence, she opened her mouth again. “Do you think the Ember Spirit is Candila’s runestone, and the source of her powers?”

Catra didn’t protest. She engaged in the conversation right away “Yeah. I mean, it’s gotta be, right? Her people came from Etheria originally. Her powers are very princessy like. You know, all colors and rainbows and that sappy stuff”  
  


“Yeah, it’s super sappy becoming a huge magical entity with super strength and able to transform a sword into whichever weapon I choose” Adora chuckled.

“I mean, the way you do it? Yeah, it’s super sappy” They both laughed, but then, they turned serious.  
  


“How are we going to take something so important from them?”

“I don’t know” Adora replied. “We can’t just take it, that’s for sure. But we need it to save the Queen.” She sighed “I think our best strategy is to come clean and tell them everything. And maybe we can come up with some kind of arrangement.”

“That’s a very _good-guys_ type of plan. So I’ll guess that’s what we’ll do” Catra smirked.

“I’m glad you approve” Adora said amusingly. “Now let’s go to sleep for real. I’m exhausted.” She reached out to Catra and kissed her tenderly on the lips.

  
“I love you.”  
  


“I love you too.”  
  
  
Melog purred happily at their feet and the three of them fell soon asleep.


	16. About Mushrooms and Fire Princesses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Candila tells the team her people's history.

Candila wake her new friends up by knocking on their doors. She greeted them with some food.

“I’m sorry it’s not more” she said “And I’m sorry it’s mostly mushrooms… it’s just what grows more abundantly in this subterranean soil”

“But mushrooms are delicious!” Perfuma exclaimed.

“Really?” Candila had a tired expression across her face “I _really_ hate mushrooms… I REALLY HATE MUSHROOMS SO MUCH” her locks ignited in crimson fire

“Wow, your hair’s on fire again!” Adora shouted “And it’s very red!”

“Yeah… I have very _strong feelings_ about mushrooms” she said with even a more tired expression. “And… the color of the fire changes depending on the emotion I’m feeling. The regular yellowish fire is for excitement, joy, etc; for instance. Red is for anger, rage, fury…”

“Woah, you really must hate mushrooms” Scorpia ventured.

Candila just cried pitifully while nodding.

They ended up asking her about the Ember Nation and how they ended up living on Yudiah in an underground cavern. She had brought some history books with her and began telling their story.

It turns out that when the First Ones arrived to Etheria and tried to harvest and control its magic, the Ember Nation, led by fire princess Vesta back then, defended themselves against the invaders. They were holding up valiantly, but the First Ones managed to capture Vesta’s fire powers with a runestone and that turned the tide in favor of the Ember Nation’s enemies. Still, they didn’t surrender and continued fighting, managing to sabotage many First One’s plans.

But the resistance was only growing weaker; the invaders were far too aggressive. After an important confrontation in which the two sides suffered great loses, Vesta and some high rank First Ones agreed to a parley. They offered the Ember Nation a way out; Yudiah. Candila’s ancestors were still on the losing side, so Vesta was forced to agree. However, she made it a condition to get her fire powers back, so she could defend her people against any possible threats in their new home. The First Ones agreed to this and gave them the runestone in which they had captured her magic, and the Ember Nation called it the Ember Spirit.

Candila didn’t notice the expression in her audience when she mentions the Ember Spirit, so she kept narrating her people’s history.

“Under Vesta’s ruling, the Ember Nation started to actually thrive here in Yudiah. But shortly after the next princess took her place and magic from the Spirit, the lizards came. “ Candila explained “It wasn’t always like this, though. We were able to keep them at bay in the other side of this moon for centuries, but then they figured out a way to poison our land and our crops, and that weakened us. This time, there wasn’t any other moon to run away to, and even if there was, while we had our own advanced technology, we couldn’t build any kind of ship to take us through the space. So the only means of survival was to hide underground.”

“And that’s how you ended up here” Adora finished. “And you are the current Fire Princess, I suppose?” 

“Well. Technically I am, I guess. But I don’t rule anybody”

“Who does, then?” asked Glimmer.

“No one, really. There aren’t many of us left, and we’re perfectly able to coordinate and make group decisions. After all, our objective is the same: Surviving. And we do that better together. Honestly, I would make a terrible leader, if you ask me” she chuckled. “I have zero leadership skills, ask anybody here”

But suddenly, something dawned of Candila.

“Shoot! And here you have a perfect example of that” she took the palm of her hand to her forehead in a quick motion, slapping it softly. “I TOTALLY FORGOT to ask _you_!”

“Ask us what?”

“The reason you’re here, of course. That’s the _first_ thing the other citizens asked me when I told them about you guys, and when I said I didn’t know, most of them rolled their eyes and sighed.” She sighed herself “and then instructed me to ask you, first thing. I seriously would be a truly terrible leader” she laughed nervously.

But the team looked at each other with worried expressions. And then Adora worked up the courage to begin their explanation. Very gravely, she said:  
  
“I think it’s time we tell you _our_ story”


	17. We All Have Our Magical Pets, Okay?

Candila was speechless. Her frequent smile had turned into a pensive frown.

“So, uh… that’s why we’re” Adora finished. They were all looking very attentively to their host.

“Thank you” she finally said “for telling me everything. I can understand what—“

“SIS!”

A toddler barged into their room, opening the door wide open and running towards Candila, whose shoulders they immediately climbed. The child looked attentively at the newcomers.

“Are they nice, sis? They look nice. And pretty!”

Candila smiled at them.

“Yes, they’re very nice, Fay”

“Can you introduce me?”

“Of course!” she pointed at each of the group and named them. “These are Bow, Glimmer, Catra, Melog, Adora, Scorpia, and Perfuma” They waved at the child.

“And who might you be?” Asked Perfuma with a sweet voice.

“I’m Fayna!” they said “Candila’s younger sib”

“It’s very nice to meet you, Fayna” Adora smiled at them.

“You too! Can you do magic? Candi said you can do magic! Can I see? Please, please, please?” they pleaded.

Adora glowed her eyes for an instant, and Perfuma tried very hard, but she finally managed to grow a tiny flower on her hand. “I’m sorry it’s not bigger” she said, and put it in Fayna’s golden-brown hair.

But they were enraptured, gently touching the flower in their hair, admiring it “It’s so prettyyyy! Thank you!” they climbed down their sister’s shoulders and hugged Perfuma, who hugged them back fondly. Scorpia let out a happy squeal, covering her mouth with her pincers.

“Candi” they turned back to their sister “There’s a big meeting in the Big Hall and they’re waiting for you”.

Candila smiled at her sibling, but she still looked worried. “Thank you, Fay. I’ll be there in a sec. Can you go first and tell everybody that I’m on my way? And that I’m bringing our visitors.”

“Yes, sis!” Fayna headed to the door. “Oh!” they said before leaving “And Pyra is back!”

When they left, Candila turned to Adora and the rest, and spoke to them:

“As I said before, we make all the decisions involving the Ember Nation together. I alone cannot give you an answer regarding our runestone…”

“We haven’t asked for it” Catra interrupted.

“No. But you need it, don’t you?”

Catra lowered her ears and her head. Glimmer spoke up.  
  
“Yes, we do, very much. It’s very important for us. But we understand that it’s very important for you, too. Our intention is to try to reach some kind of agreement. We don’t need to keep it, just use it to open a portal, so we can save my mom, and then we could bring it back, intact and in one piece.”

Candila looked at her with sad eyes. Her locks ignited in a blue fire. “Like I said, I cannot give you an answer. You can pitch your proposal in the Big Hall, and the whole village will decide. But…” she looked away “I’m very sorry, but the answer is probably going to be _no_. You have to understand, it’s our last line of defense against the lizards. It’s the only reason we have been able to survive till now. I swear, I would like to help you, but…”

“But your home and your people come first” Glimmer finished. “I respect that, truly. Just give us a chance to talk to everybody”

She nodded. “Come with me”

As they left the house, a burning bright large bird shrieked in the sky of the cavern, and then landed on Candila’s right shoulder.

“Oh, this is Pyra” she introduced the bird to the group. “It’s my phoenix companion. And my best friend.” Pyra poked Candila’s face softly with her glowing beak, in a clear manner of affection.

“Ohhh, she’s so shiny!” Scorpia exclaimed, excited.

“Is this the bird that made the signal back when we were hiding from the lizards, outside?” Catra asked.

“Yes! It’s a common tactic of ours whenever we raid lizards’ outposts.”

“That’s so cool! I also have a unicorn companion! His name is Swift Wind!” Adora said with a big smile.

“Yeah, but he can talk. In fact, he _never_ shuts up, he’s always babbling about stupid things” Catra complained, rolling her eyes. “Unlike Melog here. They are a very good, smart cat” She pet Melog with a haughty smirk in her face.

“Ha! You said _stupid_ ” Adora nudged her, smiling playfully.

Catra blushed “Well, it’s not my fault that the stupid horse only talks about stupid stuff!”

“No, no no. You lost the bet” Adora said with a satisfied expression, crossing her arms.

“There was no bet!”

“Yes there was, and _I won_!”

“Ummm… guys?” Bow interrupted, awkwardly. “Would you mind postponing your _not at all_ weird flirting after the meeting?”

Neither of them said anything, but Adora nodded nervously and Catra looked away, blushing red.

They entered the biggest building they had seen so far in the subterranean city. The first thing they noticed was the big gathering in the central room, sitting in chairs placed in concentric circles, and then, in the middle of it all, shining bright, the Ember Spirit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By the way, I pronounce Candila as /kæn'di:lɑ/ or can-DEE-la; Fayna as /'faɪnɑ/ or FIE-na; and Pyra as /'pɪrɑ/ or PI-ra.  
> But do read those names however it pleases you the most! :)


	18. The Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our main characters try to negotiate with the Ember Nation.

All the people gathered in the Big Hall around the Ember Spirit remained quietly expectant as the visitors found a seat for the upcoming meeting. Then Candila spoke:

“Folks, these are the Etherians that I found battling the lizards.” She then said all their names, leaving Perfuma’s at the end “Perfuma has told me that she believes she can help with our dying crops”

“She is magic, too! Look what she did!” Fayna pointed at the flower in their hair.

One woman stood up and addressed the group:

“Welcome, friends. We thank you for fighting our enemies and for your help with our crops. But what is your business in Yudiah? What has brought you here?”

Candila looked at Glimmer with a grave look and nodded at her. She rose up and answered her.

“Thank you for your welcome and hospitality, Ember Nation. The reason we’re here is because our former Queen, my mother, is trapped in a broken dimension, and we intend to saver her. In order to do that, we need to open a portal that can only be powered with a First One’s runestone; but all those we had in Etheria are now useless, powerless. We then detected that there might be one last runestone here, in this Moon. Your Ember Spirit.”

Another man spoke:

“Wait. So your intention is to take the Ember Spirit back to Etheria, leaving us unprotected against the lizards?”

This time, Adora replied:

“Yes, we do need it to save the Queen. But we don’t mean to just take it and leave you alone. We truly want to help you; we’re warriors, we have defeated worse odds than Yudiah’s lizards, so we are going to take them down so you can live in peace.”

Adora hadn’t really discussed that plan with her friends; in fact, she had just come up with the idea. But she knew all of them would immediately agree, and she wasn’t wrong.

The Big Hall stood silent, taking in Adora’s words. Candila was looking attentively at her, too. Finally, the first woman that spoke said:

“We thank your intentions” she looked around her peers, as if trying to confirm their thoughts were the same as hers “But the lizards are too powerful. They’re taking this moon’s vital force with terrible machinery, which is the reason we’re running short on food. I don’t mean to offend you, Etherians, but you can’t defeat th—”

“ _For the Honor of Greyskull!_ ”

The whole room gasped as Adora transformed in She-Ra in front of them.

“Please, give us a chance” she said “You don’t have to give us the Ember Spirit if we don’t success. We’ll earn it. And after we rescue our former Queen, we will bring it back where it belongs. Just please, please” she pleaded “Trust us.”

There was a long moment of mutter and whispering. Another different woman eventually said:

“We’ll discuss it, mighty warrior. Please give us the room.”

She-Ra nodded and then she and the others walked out of the Big Hall. She transformed back in Adora.

“That was the hell of a speech” Glimmer smiled at her.

“ _A thank you_ , my Queen” she bowed parodically.

After about an hour, Candila exited the building, too, and walked towards them, with a grin on her face.

“We accept.”


	19. Destroy the Drills

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They're ready to fight the lizards.

After one week of planning, training, and of Candila as well as other expert raiders teaching the Etherians everything they knew about the lizards, they were ready. After studying the outposts map and their distribution around one central main base, in which the Lizard King was supposed to live, they decided the best course of action would be going one by one before raiding the base, since the biggest problem was being outnumbered.

Candila, Pyra, and other twenty villagers with battle experience would join Adora, Catra, Melog, Glimmer, Bow, and Scorpia. Perfuma decided that it was best for her to stay behind, since the only fighting she had ever done was with her powers, now almost reduced to nothing.

“Besides” she argued “I can be of greater help here, with the crops. If the lizards are poisoning the soil with their machines, the only final solution is to stop them, but I am sure that we can come up with temporal measures that will slow down the harvest’s decaying.”

“Thanks again for your help” Candila said. “But, you know—“she got closer to Perfuma to whisper in her ear “if the mushroom kinds cannot be helped… well, it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, you know?”

Perfuma laughed. “Nonsense! Now off you go, and be safe” She kissed Scorpia and hugged the rest of her friends “I believe in you! You can do this!”

And off they went.

The first lizard outpost was very close to the cavern entrance to the underground city. They chose stealth first, knocking out in silence all the guard patrols from the outside to the center. There’s where they saw the first drill that they were using to harvest energy from Yudiah’s vital force, killing it slowly during the process.

“It looks like the ones at the Horde” Catra said, looking at the drill.

“Yeah, but they weren’t made for this, though. And ours weren’t automatic like this one here, they had to be manually adjusted every few hours.” Scorpia replied.

“What? How do you know that?” Asked Catra.

“It was covered in Force Captain O—“

“—Orientation, right, _of course_ it was” said Catra with a tired expression.

“Never mind that, let’s just destroy this thing already” Glimmer encouraged.

“Yes, my Queen!” with a stroke of her sword, She-Ra sent a multicolor blast that tore the drill down.

Candila looked pleased. “This is amazing! Only four more outposts to go!”

And so they did. They repeated the process with every single one of them, destroying every drill they found. They didn’t know If the lizards had some way to communicate with other posts, but so far it didn’t seem like it. And so they finally made it to the main base, which was some enormous kind of castle.

“So this Lizard King is serious with the king part, huh?” She-Ra said at the view of the building.

“Yeah. I only saw him once during one of our raids” Candila answered “but he was dressed all royally and everything”.

“How should we do this?” Glimmer asked.

“Let’s just try the same as with the outposts” The eight feet woman said. “We’ll improvise if we run into any trouble.”

“Wait, there’s too many of us for this kind of space. Stealth wouldn’t work like this. We should split up, send a small team first, and then we can signal the rest to come in when we’ve secured the castle” Bow argued.

“Arrow-Boy is right” Catra said.

“Pyra can take care of the signal” Candila offered, petting the Phoenix.

“Then we six go first” She-Ra decided “And Pyra and Melog. Can you make us invisible, buddy?”

Melog meowed softly.

“Great” she then turned to the group of villagers from the Ember Nation “Wait for the signal here, okay?”

The woman who spoke first at the meeting nodded. “Okay. We’ll be ready.”

And with that said, Melog jumped in front of the group and made them disappear. She-Ra kicked down a sort of backdoor and they went in.


	20. The Lizard King

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team raids the lizard castle.

The corridors within the castle were very quiet. They didn’t see any guards or patrols, until it was too late.

The lizard King was waiting for them. He knew about them since their attack on the first outpost, but because of She-Ra, a legend he was familiar with, he decided to play it safe and set a trap in his own castle, even if that meant sacrificing all of the outposts.

It didn’t matter that Melog was cloaking them. When She-Ra approached the door that would lead to the throne chamber of the King, she suddenly saw engraved in it a small piece of First One’s tech, similar to the one that Entrapta found all those years ago and that could corrupt She-Ra. This one, though, only seemed to make her drowsy, to the point that she couldn’t keep her magical form and turned back to Adora.

Catra stood by her side when all the lizard soldiers came attacking, to protect her. The rest fought them; Candila and Bow particularly took down a great number of them thanks to their long-distance abilities. But it was for naught. The lizards simply kept coming and coming, until they finally wore them down.

They were handcuffed and brought to the King. Candila could still use her fire powers, but a lizard guard had a sword on Adora’s neck and threatened to harm her if she were to use them. Catra engraved his face on her mind, and swore to herself that she personally would take him down.

The King Lizard greeted them in their own language. So far, they hadn’t heard any of the other lizards speak anything else than roaring. He was clearly an arrogant, self-centered king that took his time explaining to his prisoners how he had learnt their language, and how he managed to build such impressive machinery for his kingdom that no previous lizard King ever had. Adora wasn’t sure if she was yawning due to the effect of the First Ones’ tech or because of his long, self-adulating speech.

They were finally sent to the dungeons and locked up in a cell. The piece of tech that kept Adora so sleepy was hanged outside of it, but near enough to affect her. The minute they were left alone, they automatically started making plans.

  
  
“We gotta get out of here, and soon” Bow said “Does anybody have a plan?”

“The iron of these bars is too strong for my nails, I’ve already tried” said Catra “It’s not like the rusty metal on Krytis.”

“If I were alone, I could melt it” Candila explained “but I can’t do it without melting you guys, too.”

And suddenly Adora gasped in the middle of a yawn.

“I got it! I know who you remind me of!” Adora exclaimed, trying to keep her eyes open.

“What?” asked Candila “I remind you of someone?”

“Yes, Starla, the star siblings girl with the shiny birdie. Oh god I’m so tired” she yawned again.

“What?!” Candila’s locks ignited in pink fire “You know Starla?!” she clutched her star-shaped pendant nervously “And her brother and sister?”

“Who are Starla and these siblings?” Catra asked, feeling lost in the conversation.

“You know them, too?” Glimmer asked, curious.

“Yes! They were the ones that came trying to recruit us to fight Horde Prime, the ones that told us about him” she blushed “Starla was very kind and smart… she gave me this when she learned about my love for the stars” Candila showed them her pendant.

“Aw, yeah, they were ver nic…” Adora drifted off in the middle of the sentence.

“Hey, Adora, wake up!” Catra shooked her carefully.

“Just five more minutes…” and she let out a loud snore.

“We have to get out of here _now_ , I don’t know what long-term effects this stupid thing can have on Adora” Catra prompted.

“You’re right” Glimmer’s expression turned determined, and she got as close as she could to the iron bars. She then closed her eyes and grunted in a great effort, sparkles beginning to radiate from her.

And she made it. She teleported just outside the cell’s bars.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is getting very weird... I'm sorry for any possible loose ends. There are too many odd ideas in my head and I'm trying to put them together in a way that makes sense 😅


	21. Of Victories and Fires

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The heroes have escaped their prison and are ready to fight the Lizard King.

“Ha! I made it!”

“Yes! You go, Glimmer!” exclaimed Bow.

“Sparkles, destroy that thing!” Catra urged her.

“Oh, right!” she took the piece of First One’s tech that was incapacitating Adora and threw it into the ground with great force, and then stepped on it.

The result was immediate. Adora opened wide her eyes and stood on her feet.

“Good morning, sleepy head” Catra said mockingly “And may I say, what a lovely snoring that you hav—”

“ _For the Honor of Grayskull!_ ” Eight feet-tall She-Ra was looking down at Catra with a gloating smile in her face. “Sorry, Catra, you were saying?”

“Tsk, you always do the same. And then you call _me_ a cheater”

“Anyways” She-Ra replied nonchalantly “Shall we get out of here?” and with a colorful blast, smashed the cell open.

“Show-off” Catra smirked, and She-Ra bent down to kiss her on the cheek, smiling as well.

“Alright. Let’s make our way out of these dungeons. I’ll lead, follow me as quietly as possible” She-Ra said.

“Wait. What if they have more tech that incapacitates you?” Candila argued “Let me lead, I have my powers and Pyra, and I can be on the lookout for guards and more of those things. That way, if we encounter any, you won’t be so close and maybe it won’t affect you.”

She-Ra agreed, and so they made their way to the King’s Throne Chamber, stealthily taking down all the patrols they found on their way. When they were once again at the doors to the chamber, Candila carefully inspected them, and when she found nothing dangerous, nodded to She-Ra.

“Can you signal the rest to come in? We’ve probably clear half the guards in our way here, and we could use the backup.”

The fiery girl looked at the Phoenix and Pyra took off in a bright flight. The rest of the team blasted-off into the chamber, and startled the King, who was alone with only two guards and one non-warrior subject. They quickly took down the guards and immobilize the subject so he couldn’t go ask for help.

The King was livid, but also frightened. He knew he couldn’t defeat his opponents, and least of all when the group of people from the Ember Nation made their entrance in the chamber, guided by Pyra. Candila lit a fire circle around the King, potent enough so that he couldn’t leave, but not enough to severely burn him. He hissed non-stop.

"Well, that was easy" said Glimmer, who was expecting much of a bigger fight.

“What do you want us to do with him?” She-Ra asked Candila and the other villagers.

“For the moment, take him with us to the caves. The rest of the lizards won’t be able to do much without his planning; they’re going to need a lot of time to reorganize again, especially with this castle burnt to the ground. They will have to scatter all around Yudiah in small groups.”

“But the castle is intact” She-Ra said confused.

“Not for long” Candila replied “This castle represents all the injustice and hurt they did to us through centuries, just so they could have all this luxury. I will not let a brick standing.”

And that she did. When everyone was out of the castle, Candila took a deep breath and, extending her arms in the direction of the building, her yellow eyes shining bright, and her hair completely turned into fire, the Lizard King castle’s burned ablaze in an instant.

“I think I understand _now_ why so many of the other princesses’ weaknesses is fire” Bow said astonished.

“Yup. It makes sense now” Glimmer added.

“Ooh! And what’s my weakness? Is it fire, too?” Scorpia asked excitedly.

Her friends looked at each other, perplexed. They needed to have a chat with Netossa the moment they got back to Etheria. Which, at that point, with the Ember Nation’s enemy subdued, it wasn’t too far in the future.


	22. What Now?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Ember Nation discuss their new future.

They were reunited once more in the Big Hall, which was illuminated by the golden glow of the Spirit Ember. Now that their menace was no more, the Ember Nation had gathered to discuss their future. Even with the lizards gone, there were still incertitude and issues to resolve. More particularly, two issues; one a long-term problem, but the other was much more urgent.

“I’m afraid the damage done to the moon by the lizards’ machinery is more serious than we thought” Perfuma said at the meeting. “I think it will heal eventually, but that could take decades”

“So what are to do? How will we survive without crops?” A villager said.

“And there’s still the matter of the lizards reorganizing under a new king in the future” One of the people that went to the raid added. “That could also take years; it might not be a problem right now, but we still have to address it”

Many possible solutions were offered by different people, but neither was final or viable. Until Scorpia raised her pincer timidly:

“Um, would you— uh, would you like perhaps to come to my queendom back in Etheria?”

Everyone stared at her in silence for a moment. Perfuma was the first one to understand and offer a joyous reaction.

“That’s a wonderful idea, my love!”

“Oh?” Candila said.

“Well it’s just that there is going to be probably a lot of space there, since it stopped being a queendom itself because of Hordak all those years ago, and then so many people fled to the Crimson Waste, and, well, uh, hopefully some will return once we’re done with all the reconstruction and reparations that Hordak himself and Entrapta are doing, but, you know… it would still be pretty lonely down there without you guys” Scorpia explained very nervously.

“And would we have to… obey you? As Queen?” Another villager asked.

“Oh, gosh, no! You’re your own people, and besides, I just want to see the land of my people thrive as it once did, not rule over it. Like Perfuma in Plumeria! Right?”

“Yes, I merely provide my people with spiritual guidance and take care of our lovely flora, but we all take all the important decisions together, as you do here”

The Ember Nation was silent, pondering on Scorpia’s and Perfuma’s words.

“I… I say we go for it” Candila finally ventured. “Etheria is the land of _our_ people, too, before we were chased away by the First Ones”

“And you also wouldn’t have to eat mushrooms any more, Candi” Fayna whispered to their sister, to which she nodded enthusiastically, teary-eyed.

“I think you would really like it there” Adora said with a big smile. “I really do”

The Ember Nation discussed in lengthy all the pros and cons of such an important and life-changing decision. But ultimately, they acknowledged that there was no other real option, and most of them were thrilled at the thought of living in Etheria. So they accepted. Scorpia was delighted, thinking of so many friends —because they were all already her friends in her heart— living with her in the queendom.

It took weeks to get the whole village ready to part from their former home, and it also took various trips in Mara’s ship since they couldn’t all fit at once, but the team finally made it back to Etheria, and with the Ember Spirit in their possession.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, it's time to go rescue Angella!


	23. Back Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our characters are back in Etheria, and they need to discuss some issues.

“We got it! We got the Ember Spirit!”

Those were the first words Glimmer yelled when she saw her dad and her aunt in the outskirts of Bright Moon as she was descending from Mara’s ship. King Micah hurried to hug her, followed by his sister.

“I knew you could do it, baby girl!”

“Excellent work, Glimmer” Castaspella added, and then turned to the rest of the team “And all of you. Well done!”

Amid welcome hugs and effusive words, Candila step down from the ship, followed by her sibling and a quarter of the Ember Nation, which raised many questions among the greeters. Only Entrapta had been able to communicate with the voyagers during their quest, since she was the only one with a powerful enough equipment to reach them in the underground of Yudiah. She had been passing all the information she received to Bright Moon, but the last piece of news was so interesting and exciting for her, that she immediately started daydreaming about all the data she could collect about Yudiah and the Ember Nation; and this, of course, made her forgetful enough to neglect her role as the intermediary messenger.

“Oh, right” Entrapta said, who was among the welcoming committee “I forgot to tell them about their coming to live here. Sorry!”

Glimmer briefly narrated what happened at their last days on the moon, but then she assured that she would explain everything in depth in the next meeting at the War Room. Afterwards, they proceeded to get the Ember Spirit carefully into the palace, more precisely in a room that had been prepared by Entrapta to open the portal.

“Bow, are you sure you don’t want me to come with you to get the rest of the Ember Nation?” Glimmer asked her boyfriend when the previous task was done.

“No, you should stay here to begin with the preparations for the opening of the portal. Scorpia and I will take care of our new friends, while Perfuma stays to help settle those who are already here.”

Bow and Scorpia had become really close buddies, both of them having so much in common; so the next trip to Yudiah would probably be fun for the two friends. He and Glimmer kissed goodbye, then, and the other two parted once again towards the moon.

Everybody else went to rest, as it was already dark. The next day, though, they all reunited in the War Room to talk next steps. Besides Bow and Scorpia, Hordak and Perfuma were the only ones missing; they both were in the Fright Zone with the newcomers, the former explaining how the place worked, now that it had been built anew, and the latter making sure everyone was feeling safe and happy.

Candila, however, was at the meeting. Since she was technically a princess and the one with fire magic powers, it was decided that she would have a seat at the table to represent the Ember Nation.

“Thank you everyone for coming” Glimmer started the meeting. “Entrapta, you have the floor.”

“Thank you!” she chirped. “Well, now that we have the First One’s runestone, we’re ready to open the portal. But in order to be safe, it’s best if only one person steps into it at a time, and not for longer than an hour” she instructed. “The dimension in which Queen Angella is trapped is very unstable, which means that it will probably be constantly showing different fragments of the memories of the people inside of it, changing from one to another without warning. So whoever comes in should be tied to a rope that connects them to our own reality through the portal, kind of like an astronaut in a spacewalk. They’ll need to grab Glimmer’s mom and then signal us, so we can start pulling the two of them back.”

“How will they signal us?” Adora asked.

“With these, of course” Entrapta’s ponytail pulled out of her pocket two tiny badges decorated with a crescent moon. “It’s a simple transmitter system which I have slightly modified so it can work through two different realities. When whoever is inside activates one of the badges, its pair will start glowing, so we can know it’s time to pull.”

“Nice” Glimmer replied. “Now, the next issue to discuss is— Yes, Candila?”

The fire princess had raised her hand, and spoke when Glimmer acknowledged her. “Sorry, I don’t mean to interrupt. I just need to know something. Will I still have my powers when you use the Spirit Ember to open the portal? I mean, don’t get me wrong” she quickly added “whichever the answer is, I’m still completely on board with this, now that I don’t need them to defend anybody. But…” a small, orange flame ignited the end of her locks, which startled those who weren’t familiar with it. Her countenance looked melancholic. “I just need to know, that’s it.”

“Uh… dude, do you need me to get you some water or something for your hair?” Mermista asked, getting ready the bit of water she had on her drinking glass.

“Huh? Oh, I’m sorry! But it’s okay, my fire doesn’t burn unless I want it to burn. Here, feel it” she ignited a flame in her palm and offered it to Mermista, who wasn’t very keen on the idea.

But Sea Hawk didn’t hesitate for an instant and hurried to touch it. “My! It does not burn indeed! Pray tell, my dear friend, how can you manage to set a ship on fire with this kind of flame?”

Before Candila could reply, Mermista threw the water she was magically holding in his face. “Oops” she said with a _sorry not sorry_ expression.

Glimmer retook the floor to stop the interruptions. “No, Candila, it is our understanding that your powers will remain the same. Entrapta?”

“Yes! First of all, opening the portal won’t affect the runestone” she explained “She-Ra’s didn’t break when we opened it in the first place. But even if it did, you would still be able to use your magic, in theory. You needed it back in Yudiah, where there is no magic, because it was acting as a battery, so to speak. Without it, nothing would power you up. But now that you are here in Etheria, where the magic runs free since She-Ra destroyed the heart, you are directly plugged into the current— so you don’t need a battery anymore!”

“Oh!” Candila breathed relieved. “That’s great, thank you. I would have really missed my fire.”

“Great” Glimmer spoke again “Now there’s only one matter left to discuss: _who_ will go into the portal?”


	24. Of Loved Ones

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our characters finally decide who is going to go after Angella.

There was a moment of silence in the War Room. Everybody there would, in an instant, risk a trip through an unstable portal to go save Angella. But not everyone was sure if it was their place to do so. Taking advantage of that moment of silence, Glimmer spoke:

“I think _I_ should so it. She’s my mom, she has protected me all my life, and now it’s my turn to protect her.”

Micah put gently a hand on her shoulder. “No, babygirl. It’s me who has to do this. I wasn’t here to protect her when it all happened. I have to make up for that.”  
  
“Nonsense, it was not your fault!” Glimemr replied impetuously

Catra felt again that knot in her stomach when Glimmer said _it was not your fault_. She was right, it wasn’t Micah’s fault.

“Besides” Glimmer continued “She thinks you’re dead. If she’s trapped in a dimension where her memories are constantly being shown to her, she will believe you to be a figment of her mind. But I’m alive to her, I can convince her to grab my hand.”  
  


“She’s right, Micah” Castaspella said softly.

He kept silent for a few instants. He knew she was right. But he couldn’t shake the guilt of not having been there for Angella when she sacrified herself. He had to do something to compensate for it.

“King Micah, sir” Adora addressed him “I understand your urgency in wanting to go rescue Queen Angella yourself, but Glimmer is right, I think it should be her. But she needs someone she can trust to be at the other end of the rope to pull her back in when she reaches the Queen, and I think that should be you.”

“I’m the only one who can convince her to come with me” Glimmer reiterated.

“And besides, getting Angella back to this dimension isn’t the end of this. She will probably need her loved ones to be around her and support her when she comes back from that traumatic experience; that will be _as_ crucial as going through the portal. And you will be there for her. She will _need you_.” Castaspella added.

Micah sighed deeply and nodded. “Fine. I yield. But—“ he continued “ _if_ for whatever reason we need to go a second time, it will be me. Deal?”

“Deal” Glimmer smiled at her dad.

“I sure hope it won’t come to it, though” Entrapta ventured.

“Why? What do you mean?” Glimmer asked.

“Well, I don’t think the runestone will be able to hold the portal open for more than two hours straight. Like I said, it acts like a battery, and batteries get depleted when they’re over-used. It could be recharged, of course— but that could take months or even years.”

“So you’re saying… if we don’t get Glimmer's mother in the first two hours, we’ll have to wait years until we go after her again?” Catra asked.

“Possibly, yes.”

Adora turned to look at Glimmer, but her friend didn’t seem worried; on the opposite, she looked determined and sure of herself.

“We’ll get her back in our first try. I know we will.”

And so the time came. Any more waiting was pointless. Everyone moved from the War Room to the one in which the Ember Spirit and the mechanical skeleton of the portal was set up. Entrapta connected the two pieces together and with one of her pigtails, grabbed the lever.

“Whenever you’re ready”

Glimmer was already tied up in a resistant rope anchored at the other end on the wall, and Micah next to that end, waiting to pull it when Glimmer gave the signal inside the portal. They both wore the crescent moon badges that would serve as the only communication once Glimmer crossed dimensions.

“I’m ready. Open it.”

Entrapta pulled the lever and the portal powered up in a purple light. Glimmer took one last look around her and then she entered it.

She immediately understood why the rope was needed. All around her were fragments of her memories, all interconnected but also separated, and the sense of up, down, left, and right was completely lost. Whichever direction she took, it was impossible to discern whether she was getting away from the portal entrance or approaching it, if it wasn't for the rope.

But she walked and walked among her memories; she saw herself as a toddler, giggling happily with her parents. She saw herself in Prime’s ship, which made her deeply anxious, but then she saw herself meeting Bow for the first time and her heart rate calmed down.

She kept on walking, looking for her mom. Would shouting her name help? Was there even sound in there? Before she could even try, she glimpsed her. Angella, with her eyes unfocused, staring vacantly at nothing, her face expressionless.

“Mom!” Glimmer yelled.

Angella heard her and turned her head to look at her. Her expression hardly changed at finding her there. Before Glimmer could reach her, Angella spread her angelic wings and flied away from her.

“ _Mom_!” Glimmer pleads were more and more desperate. “Mom, please, wait! It’s me! It’s Glimmer!”

“You’re not her” she said in a coarse voice “You always do this to me. Stop.”

“Mo—!” Glimmer suddenly saw a reflection of herself in front of her. She had her old garments and haircut, but it was like looking in a mirror. Then she saw her dad, young and smiling. She saw Bow and Adora. She saw her aunt. She saw everyone Angella loves.

“Mom, please! It’s really me, I’ve come for you! Don’t you see I’m different?”

While Angella didn’t stop her flight, she did look back at her briefly. But she kept on flying away. A slight change of clothes would probably not be shocking enough to even make her doubt.

“Mom, mom! Please!”

Suddenly, something started to pull Glimmer back. It was the rope. Did that mean that her hour was up? How long had it been? She felt like she had been in there for one minute and for a hundred years. She was starting to doubt herself; was she even real? What was she doing there?

It wasn’t until she found herself back in the Bright Moon’s palace that she recovered her sane conscious.

“I’m sorry, Glimmer” Entrapta said, with a rather sad voice. “We couldn’t leave you longer in there, my readings say it could be dangerous to your cognitive skills”

“Don’t worry, babygirl” Her dad hugged her “You did your best. I’m going now, I will bring her ba—“

“No!” Glimmer yelled at him “No, dad, it’s… it’s useless, there are all kinds of illusions in there, there are replicas of ourselves that follow her all the time, she… she won’t come with us because she doesn’t believe it’s really us…”

“I’ll make her believe it” Micah was determined and went for the rope.

“Wait!” Catra said “Let me go after her”

Everyone turned to look at her, wildly surprised.

“No offense, Catra, but you don’t mean anything to her” Micah stated firmly.

“And that’s _exactly_ why I should go” she replied “Please, Glimmer” she looked at the current Queen in the eyes. “Please, trust me. Let me do this. I can get her back, I _promise_ ”

Glimmer was aware of the weight and the meaning of that word for Catra. Adora stepped in and spoke in her girlfriend’s favor.

“Glimmer, let Catra right her wrong. I know she wouldn’t risk this opportunity to get your mom back if she wasn’t utterly convinced that she could do this”

The current Queen smiled at Catra and nodded. “Okay. Go get my mom, horde scum” and she gave her the communicator badge.

But Micah shouted _NO!_ and hurried towards the portal with the rope loosely tied around himself. He was at a brink of crossing it when he suddenly froze in place, a glowing, circular glyph under his feet.

“Micah, I know your feelings are too strong right now and you only want to save Angella, but the kids are right. We have to trust them” Castaspella said to her struggling brother, who was trying to free himself from his sister’s spell.

Micah had always been superior in pure, raw, magical talent, but no one could ever beat Castaspella when it comes to focus and a clear mind; after all, she was the Head Sorceress at Mystacor for a reason. And at that moment, Micah was anything but centered, completely unable to concentrate his magic in the right spot to free himself. Still, his magical powers were truly a sight to behold, so Casta knew she couldn’t stop him forever.

“Hurry!” she urged Catra.

She didn’t hesitate. She easily unknotted the rope around Micah’s body and tied it properly around her waist; and then she jumped.

Much like Glimmer, she was immediately immersed in a pool of past memories. Only most of Catra’s weren’t as pleasant as the other’s. But she paid them no attention and ran in search of the former Queen. And again, she also found her.

There was shock in Angella’s expression this time. Clearly, the vision of Catra’s wasn’t one she would ever expect. She hesitated to fly away, this time.

“I know you think I’m not real” she shouted in her direction “But look around, the only figures you see are those from the ones you love. Why me? Why am I here?”

Angella stood frozen on her spot. Catra approached her cautiously.

“And why are you seeing me like this? You barely know me, why would your mind fabricate a new look for me? I’m not your daughter, whom you know so much that you could see her in a thousand different ways”

Angella’s eyes teared up. “Are you real? Are you?”

“I am, your majesty. Please. I am so sorry for all the pain and hurt I inflicted on you and the ones you love, I really, really am! That’s why you have to trust me, please. Grab my hand. I’m taking you back to your daughter. Trust me, for Glimmer”

“Glimmer” she whispered.

“That’s right!”

She extended her hand, and, trembling in fear and hope, Angella caught it. Then Catra pushed her badge with a quick movement, which immediately started glowing, and the rope in which she was tied began to pull them back.

Entrapta maneuvered the lever once again and the portal shut down. At its feet, Angella and Catra were lying on the floor, Angella’s eyes looking at everything around her bewilderedly.


	25. Much Later After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Epilogue.

It took some time for Angella to be the same she had been before her sacrifice. Time wasn’t lineal or even measurable within the dimension she was trapped, and only her immortality kept her cognitive skills to be permanently damaged.

But she had Micah and Glimmer, and even Adora, Bow, Castaspella, and the rest of the former rebellion; all of whom patient and lovingly stood by her side whenever she needed it, proving that love is the most powerful asset in the universe.

Once she recovered, Glimmer argued that she should go back to being the ruling Queen. But both her parents refused, for they knew it was their daughter’s time and she had already proven herself to be a just and wise ruler.

Catra was more welcomed and celebrated than ever. Micah soon apologized to her for his attitude back at the opening of the portal, and thanked her heartily for bringing Angella back. The former Queen also thanked Catra, and let her in her heart. Glimmer, naturally, viciously attacked Catra with furtive kisses on her cheeks anytime she saw an opening. Bow campaigned for a statue in Catra’s honor (“One that beautifully depicts her epic ascension from evil to glorious redemption!” he would say); but luckily for her, he was eventually talked out of it. Adora did succeed, however, in throwing a surprise party for her unsuspecting girlfriend. But most importantly, no one in Bright Moon or the rebellion would ever hesitate to completely trust Catra. 

Life in Etheria turned joyfully boring.

Netossa and Spinnerella would host every year a mega-contest event for all kingdoms, where Netossa could give free reign to her competitiveness —which directly granted her many victories— and Spinnerella made her vegetable platters the traditional meal of the event. People grew to like them.

Scorpia and Perfuma soon had their first baby, making so many of their friends overprotecting aunts and uncles. They both were so beloved by all the people in Plumeria (where they spent spring and summer) and the former Fright Zone (in which they lived during fall and winter), and established solid, friendly relations with the Ember Nation, who, under their new, favorable circumstances, doubled their size very soon. After a visit of the Star Siblings, to much of Candila’s delight, they decided to stay and settled down with them.

Mermista allowed Double Trouble to fund a theater company in Salineas, at Sea Haw’s very annoying insistence. He became the musical and special effects director (which involved lots of shanties and fires), and, after he and Double Trouble forced Mermista to participate in a performance for which they didn’t have enough actors, she took a liking to it and became a very popular actress, capable of great nuance in her performances. Wrong Hordak also took a job as an actor, although he would always be typed-cast as the goofy, likeable character.

Speaking of Hordaks, the other one and Entrapta opened a mechanical shop in Dryll, while also devoting their lives to scientific research. They managed to build impressive technological inventions that made life in Etheria much more comfortable. One of these particular inventions helped Swift Wing in his planet-wide crusade for equine liberation.

Castaspella adopted a war orphan, whom she raised lovingly, and taught her all the wonders of sorcery, for which the little one had a knack. They would often visit their relatives at Bright Moon, always showering them with hand-made gifts. Micah and Angella loved the experience of having a niece; Angella had always the child’s favorite food prepared, and Micah taught her one magical prank or two behind his sister’s back.

After Scorpia and Perfuma, Bow and Glimmer were the next ones to become parents. Frosta self-appointed herself as the baby’s godmother, and when he was older, she built for him all sorts of snowy amusement parks with the best frozen slides. Bow’s dads, however, took care of their grandson’s education and made sure he learned all about the history his parents made.

Adora and Catra visited every place in Etheria. Catra loved the peacefulness of just the two of them and Melog going from place to place. Adora fell in love with charting all of those places into maps. And when Etheria felt too small, they flew off all around the universe. When they came back, they were holding a little blond baby in their arms.

One night, while little Finn was fast asleep, Adora brought something to the bed and gave it to Catra.

“What’s this?” She asked.

“Take it” Adora answered, placing the small object in her palm. It was Adora’s wing-shaped pin. “I don’t know why we haven’t done this before”

Catra stared at the pin and then looked back at her.

“Adora… are you asking me to marry you?” she said with a mischievous grin.

“We did always say it would be you and me, together at the end of the world, didn’t we?”

“You’re so corny” said Catra still smiling widely, yet her eyes were welling up.

“Yeah” Adora brought their foreheads together “I know”

Catra didn’t really have to say yes. By now, they could reach each other off just by a look, a touch, a laugh. They melted together in a kiss and let the night and the rest of their lives together come.

The world never knew any love story like theirs.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for not giving up on this story. I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing all of it. It has definitely helped me cope with the ending of the show (Though _hopefully_ we'll have a #SheRaMovie soon), so it has been very therapeutic.
> 
> Thank you so much again 💛
> 
> Love,
> 
> Sol.


End file.
